Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

As a cookbook author, whenever you do a cooking demonstration, there’s always The Question. It’s the one that’s the most frequently asked when you’re teaching classes. For me it’s “Can that be frozen?”

Since my freezer is usually so crammed with stuff I can’t imagine wedging in a multi-layer cake amongst all the rock-hard frozen madness that I call “my freezer”…except for now, because I came home from the country last weekend and found my freezer door had nudged itself open, or more likely I accidentally left it ajar in my haste to get outta town, and when I came home, my freezer looked like an Antarctic blizzard had happened in there and had to be completely cleaned out…so now there’s plenty of room and I can start jamming it full all over again.

Anyhow, when you write a book completely devoted to frozen desserts and ice cream you can smugly think to yourself, “Ha! I’ve nipped that one in the bud.” Of course, all ice cream can be frozen. But little did I realize something insidious had taken ahold of my fellow Americans. “Can I use Splenda?” was The Question I was getting.

I don’t use artificial sweeteners in my cooking and don’t know how they behave so I’m not going to dole out advice on how to use them. But some people can’t have highly-refined or white sugar for health reasons, so I told those folks I’d “get back to them on that” – which I’m doing here and now. I wanted to come up with a recipe for ice cream-lovers who are looking for a sugar-free option that tastes every bit as good as regular ice cream. And this is it.

After my last book tour ended, I jettisoned home and decided to come up with a top-drawer recipe for Sugar-Free Chocolate Ice Cream that used no artificial ingredients. I made a trip to my local health food store in Paris, picked up a jar of agave nectar, and got churning. I decided to create sugar-free chocolate ice cream, since the luscious, silky-smooth taste of dark chocolate was probably something that most folks on sugar-restricted diets were craving. But I didn’t want to make something that tasted like just an acceptable substitute for chocolate ice cream: I wanted it to be the real thing, smooth and creamy, with the luxurious flavor of rich, dark chocolate.

If you live outside the United States, you can often find tablets of unsweetened chocolate at some chocolate shops and specialty stores. In France it’s usually labeled, 100% pâte de cacao—100% chocolate paste.

Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Ice Cream

Print Recipe

About 1 quart (1 liter)

Since the custard is made without sugar, keep an eye on things as it will cook rather quickly. You can either use a flame-tamer or cook the custard in bain-marie, a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, to avoid overcooking if you’ve never made a custard before. And because I don’t like washing dishes, I use the same saucepan for cooking the custard that I used for dissolving and blooming the cocoa powder, I simply scrape it as clean as possible and use it again for making the custard.
If you would like to reduce the quantity of agave nectar here, you can cut the amount to ½ cup (120 ml) if you wish.

1. In a small saucepan, warm the agave syrup with the unsweetened chocolate over the lowest heat possible, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and transfer mixtures to a large bowl. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, add 1½ cups (375 ml) of the half-and-half and whisk in the cocoa powder. Cook over moderate heat until the mixture begins to bubble, then simmer for 30 seconds, whisking frequently, making sure to break up any clumps of cocoa powder.

3. Remove from heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl with the chocolate-agave mixture. Stir them together, then set a mesh strainer over the top.

4. Add the remaining half-and-half to the saucepan with a pinch of salt, turn on the heat, and when warm, slowly pour the warm half-and-half into the yolks whisking constantly, then pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

5. Cook, stirring constantly over moderate heat, until the mixture becomes steamy and thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read about 170F degrees. (76C).

6. Pour the mixture through the strainer into the chocolate mixture.

7. Stir, then let cool a few minutes until tepid. Once it’s cooled down, whiz the mixture in a blender for ten seconds until it’s smooth and velvety. (Never blend very hot liquids in a blender since it creates a hot vortex that can cause the liquid to blast out of the top.)

8. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

this looks absolutely yummy! and i do have a bottle of agave syrup(hard to find here!) that i got from a recent food expo. i first heard about it from Ideas In Food. i can only imagine what a splash of bailey’s will do to this! maybe i’ll buy myself that ice cream maker attachment for KA that i’ve been wanting. i’m still trying to justify the expense.

However, I ask you to please make a slight correction (or amendment) to your yummy post above.

Agave nectar is not sugar-free, however low-glycemic and wonderful it is. When nutritionists say it’s safe for diabetics, they immediately qualify that with a statement that diabetics who use agave nectar must watch their carb intake when using it. I’ve been using agave nectar in my cooking and baking for about two years now, and have researched its sugar qualities because I live with sugar sensitivities.

When I said ‘sugar free’ I meant there was no granulated sugar in it, instead of calling it ‘unsweetened’, which would mean there’s no sweetener (stevia, agave, honey, malt, etc.) in it.

There’s so many recipes out there that use Splenda and artificial sweeteners that I wanted to present a natural alternative, although I do point out that this is a recipe for people avoiding white/highly-refined sugar.

I did a quick search on the internet for ‘sugar free ice cream’ and found almost all the recipes used some truly frigthening products and hoped to provide a natural, good-tasting alternative.

Anything with carbohydrates has natural sugar in it; pasta, bread, Judith’s miracle potato chips, etc…so I’m not sure what is the correct term or definition for something without refined sugar is:naturally-sweetened?

But then again, white sugar extracted from sugar cane or beets without additives. Is that natural?

Yikes!

I swapped the title of the post so there would be no confusion…and I’d better stick to sugar from now on.

Americans are obsessed with artificial sweeteners. They somehow think that using them in their beverages will allow them enough extra calories to consume a Big Mac.

I understand that diabetics and others with dietary restrictions may need to reduce sugar. I am glad to see that you chose to substitute Agave nectar instead. Agave is great in tea (I haven’t tried it in anything else). The ice cream looks positively luscious. You have inspired me to try Agave in my baking. Great post!

Btw, I bought mine on Amazon (it was 6 bottles for around 18 bucks). I’m diabetic so I use it on my Oatmeal and it is really great stuff. The best part is how great it tastes (no artificial aftertaste).

Izzy: Yes, I agree. And just to add another two cents, Heidi does talk in her book and gives specific guidelines about substituting agave for other sweeteners. But in general, you can use it to flavor fruit crisps, compotes and in other baking applications using less since it’s sweeter than sugar. And because it’s acidic, like honey, it can cause custards to break so take care, as I have in the recipe above.

I really like agave, and other natural sweeteners and always want to learn more. If anyone has great tips on baking or cooking with agave, feel free to share them here…

Hi David,
Thanks so much for making the alterations to the post. Oh, and please don’t stop noodling around with agave nectar! I’d love to see what kind of delicacies you can make with it. I’d begun to feel like the agave outpost for a while. ;D

It’s nice to see folks trying it, albeit it’s challenging to use liquid sweeteners like agave in baked goods, but it’s such a good fit for ice cream.
Thanks again!

Hi.. great looking recipe. I was wondering if you could use local honey as a sugar substitute? We’ve been trying to use local honey as a replacement to boost immunity for allergies. Do you think this would work?

Kate: Yes, you can use honey. I would choose a very mild-flavored one, which complimented chocolate, and use the smaller amount (½ cup, as indicated in the headnote.

Mariangela

August 27, 2007 5:20pm

Bravo! We keep a gallon jug of agave syrup (we like Aunt Patty’s certified organic brand) in the fridge and always at the ready for margaritas, but I’m excited to know that it will work in ice cream too…

Have you tried Xylitol?
Terrible name for a naturally derived product. I’ve tried it for baked goods, it retains some moisture, so works better for moist things. It’s not as viscous as sugar so didn’t work well for sorbet, but ice cream? Its sweetness exchange is pretty close to sugar too, unlike all the nasties.

Jane

August 27, 2007 6:04pm

HA! I was in one of your classes (Austin) when someone asked if she could use Splenda. You should have seen your face!! Wish I’d taken a picture.

sam

August 27, 2007 6:18pm

grumble grumble. I’ve gone and gotten an ice cream maker just so i can use that book you gave me and I am meant to be on a diet. I’am going to clip you round the ear for all the trouble you’ve caused when i get to paris next month.

I was shocked to see not one, but two brands of agave syrup at my local Sunflower Market today! It’s not something I’ve ever heard of (or tried), but if it’s better for me than Splenda, I’ll give it a whirl.

Loam

August 27, 2007 7:47pm

You dear man. I knew nothing about you but a friend sent me this recipe and this page today and now I’m going to go home and build an altar to you. Keep cooking with the natural sweeteners and you will open up new worlds. Mille grazie.

David, the ice cream looks just fantastic. I really like the flavor of agave and I’ve had good luck with it in everything I’ve tried it in. I don’t know about in Europe, but in the U.S. I think it’s pretty widely available in health food stores, or in the health food section of grocery stores.

I’m pretty sure the South Beach Diet police would insist that this has to be what I call a “once in a while treat,” but what a treat it would be!

nan

August 27, 2007 8:57pm

I’m very grateful for this one — I love agave and like to keep my sugar consumption down. Cannot wait to try it.
Merci!

by what you meant with “taking care not to break the custard” how was this done? would this have to do with heating the syrup(acidic) with the chocolate(alkaline?) first before introducing to the cream? would be using dutch-processed cocoa make a difference?

Hi David,
On page 212 of your book, “Ripe for Dessert” you have a wonderful recipe for Mixed Berry Pie. I’m wondering if the filling would be a good place to use the agave, thus cutting down on the overall amount of sugar needed.
I have an incredible ‘sweet-tooth’ as well as a yen for everything home baked as much as possible – but I also happen to be sugar sensitive – so, hopefully this ice cream paired with a rather large slice of the Mixed Berry Pie will be a good place to start restricting myself :)

Oh how interesting. While I personally am one for using real sugar, I also share your curiosity about trying different ingredients and incorporating different dietary restrictions.

When I need something low in sugar, I keep stevia in my pantry as a substitute (not only is it all natural, but high in fiber). This year, I grew stevia in a pot on the balcony. It grew like mad, and the leaves are amazingly sweet: we started chopping them up and adding them to fruit salad, and I want to experiment more with them.

look how many comments you have elicited. you always know how to start a conversation…

i just put up a post about using agave nectar in lemonade. Worked like a charm, although some thought it too tart. I’ve started to realize that bleached white sugar is useless (although so sweet and pretty). Heidi’s book pushed me to make the ideas I had been brewing into action.

We could all do with a little more experimentation in our food. It’s easy to be stuck in a rut. i like discovering.

christine

August 29, 2007 7:04pm

Hey David: Have you heard about the new ice cream place Caramella on the rue des Martyrs? They got lots of flavors too, like peanut butter and jelly.. yummy..

Shauna: I love using different sweeteners and finding one that’s a plausible alternative that acceptable to people on restricted-sugar diets is a real boon. But aside from any health benefits, many of these sweeteners simply taste good.

Agave is terrific since it dissolves easily and doesn’t have an overwhelming taste, making it a perfect match for Chocolate Ice Cream.

Kayenne: If you heat acidic things (honey, brown sugar, fresh ginger, citrus, etc..), they can cause custards to break. So I add them at the end, or at another point in the recipe.

thanks david! I had an idea about acids and creams curdling, but didn’t know that adding heat can further encourage it. I’ve always wanted to try making lemon custards, but unsure how. I love agave… it has this homey, mellow flavor not unlike brown sugar.

I love this! I stumbled upon it tonight while looking for a recipe for chocolate syrup sweetened with Agave (I didn’t find one, so made one up myself)- I’m bookmarking this for next week!

FWIW, I use only Agave (well, sometimes Xylitol) to sweeten in our house: iced tea, coffee, sweet breads, cookies, etc. It just requires a reduction in liquid ingredients, and personally I use less Agave than the amount of sugar called for in a recipe.

Hi there. I first heard your name from my friend Heidi, but then randomly was in Teo, my favorite espresso place in Austin, and Matt had an email from you claiming theirs is the best gelato in the US taped to the register. Random. And inspiring! I can say I routinely eat the best gelato in the country.

Anyway, on fructose. Different agave syrups have different ratios of fructose to glucose. Sucrose, normal table sugar, is a 50/50 mix (guaranteed, since they’re fused together molecule-for-molecule.) But some agave syrups are as much as 90% fructose.

A little science: the glycemic index of a food is the rate at which it causes the blood sugar to rise. Pure glucose is the definition of maximum GI, and is set at 100, because nothing spikes blood sugar faster than drinking pure glucose. Blood sugar *is* glucose, and so it goes straight from the digestive system into the bloodstream.

Fructose, on the other hand, must be metabolized by the liver to be made into glucose to be released into the blood. This rate-limiting step is the reason it has a lower glycemic index — like a “time release formula” sugar.

That said, it’s worth being careful with fructose. In studies on rats, excess fructose consumption leads to cirrhosis and excess fat production, whereas glucose doesn’t really have any adverse effects. No doubt that’s related to all the work in the liver.

I think it’s interesting that there’s a sense that high-fructose corn syrup is this total poison because it’s highly processed, whereas stuff like agave is really healthy because it’s less processed. In fact, the normal HFCS used in food in the US is something like 43% fructose and 52% glucose, so it has far less fructose than agave syrup, and is closer to sucrose. There’s an argument that the free fructose is worse than the fructose bound up in sucrose molecules, but if that’s the case, agave syrup is all free fructose, and should be especially bad.

Now, I don’t like HFCS because I find the taste unpleasant. But as far as health risks go — and obviously nutritional science changes its tune on a regular basis, so maybe this will all be proven false next week — but right now, glucose seems much less risky than fructose. For diabetics it’s a tough call, of course, but at the very least, anyone using fructose as a primary sugar probably ought to do so in moderation.

Although i have no reason to be eating sugar free… this chocolate ice cream does look very delicious!

And what you said about acids ” If you heat acidic things (honey, brown sugar, fresh ginger, citrus, etc..), they can cause custards to break. So I add them at the end, or at another point in the recipe.”
Recently i made a honey/vanilla ice cream, and i heated the honey from the beginning with the cream, as I would when using sugar as a sweetener. And, my custard based ice cream came out with a wonderfully smooth texture!

why did it not “break”, and what does break even mean? curdle maybe?,when i make ice cream i wait for the eggs to start curdling a tiny bit on the sides of the saucepan, and then i just put it all through a strainer (usually just catching a few tiny coagulated egg chunks). My honey ice cream didn’t seem to coagulate any different than my other ice creams, or break… the texture just seemed smoother and much softer than normal.

thanks

Elizabeth

October 11, 2008 6:39pm

I now have to make this ice cream every few days to keep up with the consumption in my family!!! They love it Thank you! We love chocolate and hate processed sugar and now we can have ice cream!

Angelica

October 26, 2008 2:37pm

Thank you for your insight into agave ice cream. I work for a health food store here in the great old US of A and have always used honey to make our ice cream. However, just recently, my boss came across a supplier that is willing to sell us agave at cost – which makes it roughly half the price that we are paying for honey. So his latest idea is “agave ice cream” and we just have to make it so. We’ve gone through weeks and weeks of testing trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Of course the whole process requires a lot of tasting – heaven forbid! But we’ll muddle our way through. Our goal in starting this whole process was to come up with a softer ice cream that could be scooped right out of the freezer – which with our deep freeze I don’t see it happening – that thing turns everything soft to solid rocks that you’d need a jack hammer to get through. But overall the experiment is going well and the final product isn’t half bad. I’m just glad to see that I’m not the only one on this road to find the perfect agave ice cream. Thanks again!!!

Andrea

February 12, 2009 2:21am

Hello David! Can’t wait to try this recipe, looks excellent! Could I use Fat Free Half n Half or Fat Free/Low Fat Greek Yogurt in place of the full fat half n half in this recipe?

Andrea: I’ve not use fat-free half and half so I don’t know what it is, or how it works. Using lower fat products will change the texture often but if you want to experiment, let us know how it turns out! Happy churning.. david

Kim

February 13, 2009 1:42pm

Hi David,
Love the ice cream…I’ve made it twice now…
Question, I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong but after cooking with the egg yolks, and constantly stirring until it reaches 170, I pour it through the strainer but am left with ALOT (maybe 1 1/2 cups) of excess thick custard/egg inside the strainer. The past 2 times I have discarded it. I wasn’t sure what to do with the excess because it seemed like so much and then you mentioned blending it all through the blender. Am I just cooking the egg mixture too long? The ice cream still turned out awesome but I was just concerned about so much excess in the strainer.
Thanks for a great recipe!

Hi Kim: Glad you like the recipe. For egg-safety, it’s recommended that eggs be cooked to 160C, although most custards and eggs set at 170F. If your mixture is too thick, you can cook it less or give it a very brisk whisking before straining it, which loosens the proteins and thins it out. You could also use a less-fine strainer, too.

You shouldn’t have that much custard remaining in the strainer. Maybe a few tablespoons at most. Happy churning~!

Pamela M Wicks

February 27, 2009 10:15am

David–can’t wait to try this ice cream recipe! I have been eliminating refined sugar as much as possible and agave is a favorite of mine. Have you heard of a product called Fruit Sweet? It is made in WA state by Wax Orchards and it is a fruit reduction using pears, apples and pineapple. It is a little pricey but is wonderful in baked items. They also make fabulous chocolate syrups using the Fruit Sweet. and they have fruit syrups for pancakes, french toast etc. Thanks for the recipes!!

pam in Wa state

Mae

February 27, 2009 2:39pm

Heavenly! I added pepepermint extract, and then folded in crushed thin mint cookies — fantastic! I used Dagoba cocoa powder. My next batch will be infused in orange zest and I’ll fold in your candied orange peel. Your recipes are amazing!

Thank you so much for this, a lot of my friends, family and readers are diabetic and I have just started the agave nectar journey. This looks like the perfect place to begin!

Barry

May 22, 2009 8:45pm

Had this bookmarked since you posted it, just tried it now for the first time. I think I did everything right and looks like a winner. To add a little depth to the chocolate I added about 1/4 tsp of instant espresso. Thanks for the recipe!

Per your absinthe ice cream recipe, which I am also making right now, I subbed the agave nectar for 2/3 C sugar and had added a little bit of water just to make a syrup out of the sugar. So far so good. I have both the Chocolate and the Absinthe ice creams chilling in the fridge. The chocolate has a nice texture and wonderful flavor. I used 4 TBSP of absinthe, but could have done fine with 3 TBSP. When I get home tonight, I will coerce them into a luxurious homemade ice cream.

For what its worth – The chocolate ice cream I made turned out yummy! It was a bit on the hard side, and I stirred and stirred too (no ice cream maker). I also made your Absinthe Ice Cream at the same time and that came out a bit soft, more like a gelato than an ice cream. I’m thinking I added a bit too much absinthe (4 TBSP). Since I used 2/3 C sugar instead of agave in this choc recipe, Im guessing I didnt add enough water to my sugar syrup (to simulate the agave). I added just enough water made a thick sugar syrup. Will add a little bit more water next time….. or just buy some ice cream for $2.50 :)

Jen

July 3, 2009 2:30am

Thanks for this recipe. I have the custard chilling right now. I dissolved some instant coffee granules in a little of the half and half, and I’m going to fold in a few dark chocolate baking chips for added texture. I tasted the custard and it was yummy–can’t wait to eat it tomorrow!

Hi,
I can’t find agave nectar,
could I use regular sugar?
and in case I can use it, how much should I use?

thanks :)

Jen

July 3, 2009 12:08pm

I have found agave nectar in my grocery store, my super walmart, and in a health food store.

It’s usually in one of three places:
With the baking stuff (sometimes near the sugar substitutes)
With the pancake syrup
With the honey and peanut butter

Good luck finding it!

Jen (again)

July 3, 2009 12:48pm

My ice cream just finished freezing and it’s FABULOUS!

Thanks so much for such an AWESOME recipe!

For the person who asked, I used Fat Free Half and Half, and it worked just fine! However, FF Half and Half has a few grams of sugar so if that’s a concern, stick with the regular Half and Half (no sugar).

honey, I live in Italy, in a village where they don’t even know what agave is :)
that’s the reason why I can’t find it :) and the reason why I wanna try to substitute it with something else more available

Hi Sere: This recipe was specifically-developed for agave, for people who are for various reasons avoiding sugar. (I don’t use artificial sweeteners and wanted to present an alternative.) You could try honey, although the flavor is quite strong so use a mild-flavored one.

it’s just that… it looks so yummy in that photo… and I wanted to try it :)

thank you very very much David :)

ps: thanks Jen, too, for trying to suggesting where I could find agave nectar :) it was very kind of you ;)

Lara

July 31, 2009 4:32pm

Hi David! We want to try a chocolate ice cream recipe for kids as well as us and some call for only 2 full eggs, which we prefer due to our mild egg allergies, but they are not warmed at all. Its not really a custard base. We use organic eggs but I am a little worried about raw eggs-are there any health risks? Also when we try your recipe for ourselves alone- (I would like to try agave in ice cream and I never use white sugar anyways) is it necessary to use 5 yolks- or would less work and we add more cream instead? Also can whole eggs be used- not to waste the whites? I am happy to see cocoa powder in your recipe since some ingredients like baking chocolate are harder to find organic- which is our first choice.

Lara: I don’t use whole eggs in ice cream because the whites cook quicker than the yolks and that can impact the texture negatively. I don’t know how it would work with less yolks, but if you do try that, let me know how it works out.

Yes, you could use whole milk. The final ice cream would be icier, grainier, and get a lot harder in the freezer.

Delores

January 21, 2010 10:30am

I had my doubts about this recipe using so many egg yolks. Most recipes usually call for two or three. The result is an exceptionally smooth and creamy product. I like the agave syrup better than the recipe I made using sugar. I will definitely pass this recipe on to ice cream lovers

This really looks lovely. I’ve been wondering how agave would work in ice cream and you have neatly answered the question.

P.S. What is all this nonsense about Americans guzzling artificial sweeteners while gorging on Big Macs? Honestly people. I live in Montana where I eat fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market or a CSA and grass-fed Montana beef. My town just declared it a-okay to keep chickens in your backyard within city limits. The only thing I despise more than fast food is this kind of American stereotype.

Beth

February 12, 2010 10:48pm

David, this was fabulous! And re: Lara’s question, I made it with 3 egg yolks (we find 5 “too creamy,” if you can believe it) and it turned out very well. Thanks so much for the post! My dad has high blood sugar, so this is a great recipe for him.

jk

June 10, 2010 4:22pm

I just made this last night using maple syrup instead of agave syrup (same amount). It came out amazing! No one would ever know that it’s sugar-free. Maple syrup is a good alternative now that all the bad news about agave has been revealed. Thanks for the great recipe!

jk

June 11, 2010 12:16pm

I should also mention that I use organic grade b PURE maple syrup – NOT the stuff that has a bunch of other ingredients that you get in a plastic bottle.

Thank you so much for this recipe! I cannot eat processed sugar, and have missed ice cream for many years. I finally broke down a got an ice cream maker, figuring that I could figure out a solution. I made maple buttered pecan ice cream (amazingly delicious) yesterday. This one is next on my list! I am wondering if you have any recipes for fruit ice cream or sorbet that use agave, honey, maple syrup, etc.? Thanks again.

Susan Fernald

September 27, 2010 1:28am

I am happy that you are into chocolate. I think you are the latke king mentioned in molly’s New York cookbook. I made your latkes and they were delicious. we loved them. I am experimenting with agave and i one day will make chocolate ice cream. I haven’t made ice cream in a long time but am eating healthier. I look forward to reading your recipes.

mariss

November 17, 2010 1:55am

i just made this and you are amazing! the recipe was perfect and so are you. thank you! xoxoxo

Lisa

December 13, 2010 11:13pm

Being from Oregon and a bit of an ice cream connisseur ;) , we have the most amazing chocolate ice cream by a company called Tillamook. It is rich, creamy and so chocolate-y! I have yet to find anything that is similar to me…
When I was looking for an ice cream recipe sans sugar, and found this one, (which I also have David’s Perfect Scoop book on ice creams which is FABULOUS!) I tried it for some guests. It is absolutely amazing!!! And just as good as the ice cream I adore!
I have made it several times now, and just love it!! One of my new faves…and hard to believe it is sugar-free!
I just love your website and recipes, David! Merci’ beaucoup! :)